Hey guys, just got back from the vet with Dash. Since we are without a car anymore we don't take him to the groomer (I shave him myself) but I'm not quite comfortable yet with trimming his nails. So I took him across the street to get them done at the vet's office. He mentioned that his dewclaws were really long and really loose and flabby and said it was easy to result in injury.

The vet told us to consider the surgery to get the dewclaws removed. I know this is usually done while the puppies are only days old. And although the vet said it was really quick it would seem like a painful recovery process. Has anyone had this done to a dog that isn't a few days old? Or are there any suggestions/comments on the surgery? I know if we keep them trimmed they shouldn't be a problem, however Dash is a crazy dog that runs around and I don't want him getting one ripped.

How often is he out in terrain that might result in injury? Grassy lawns will probably not cause injury, but if he's dashin' through heavy brush, you might have more of a problem. Will he tolerate a wrap around the dew claw to keep it out of harms way?

Our Ridge still has her dew claws and they're pretty floppy, too. I just keep them trimmed as short as I can and if she were going out in the woods, we'd just wrap the dew claw area with vet wrap (that stretchy, self-clinging gauze that they use on horses' legs) and secure with a little piece of surgical tape.

We did have dew claws removed on our first setter after we got him because of injury, and the recovery wasn't horrible but it wasn't a piece of cake, either--just a matter of pain pills for the first few days and a vet wrap over the wound. I think it took about 3 weeks for full healing and another few weeks for the hair to grow around it to protect the bare skin. The biggest danger is infection because the dew claw is near that boney wrist area and infection is difficult to fight in a joint.

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I had Luna's back dew claws removed. They were just flaps of skin with a nail in them and I was concerned that they would get caught on something. I got them removed when she was spayed at about 8 months (I got her when she was 6 months). She didn't seem to experience any discomfort or anything, but they were just skin, so it probably wasn't as bad as it could be with bones?

If you know you're going to a park or something, maybe just tape them? It would be a less invasive way of keeping them protected.

Both of my dogs have their dew-claws in the front and they have bones, like little thumbs. They've both ripped a nail off of them while playing fetch and Suzie's nail never grew back... Would I have had them removed had I known? I'm not really sure! I definitely would go back and tape them down, but maybe if that didn't work I would consider it?

Taping them would be a good idea and a good alternative to surgery. I would use that sticky stretchy 3M bandage wrap (I can never remember what it's called). You can pick it up at Petsmart, it's cheap, comes in different colours, and can be reused.

Thanks for all the help I think I will keep them bandaged if we go out on any long walks this winter but I am going to hold off on the surgery. I will keep it in mind, especially for the back ones, but I don't want to do anything drastic if it won't be needed.

Taping them would be a good idea and a good alternative to surgery. I would use that sticky stretchy 3M bandage wrap (I can never remember what it's called). You can pick it up at Petsmart, it's cheap, comes in different colours, and can be reused.

Vetwrap

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Courage is being scared to death and saddling up anyways. ~John Wayne